Food security has become a pressing issue and an essential concept in the agricultural statistical system. The importance of food security is supported by the Universal Declaration on the Eradication of Hunger and Malnutrition (1974) and Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) which highlights “the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions.”

But, what is food security? In the 1996 World Food Summit, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) stated that food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food which meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. The FAO identified four dimensions which affect food security, namely: food availability, food access, utilization, and stability. Food availability refers to the availability of sufficient quantities of food of appropriate quality, supplied through domestic production or imports. Food access is the access by individuals to adequate resources for acquiring appropriate foods for a nutritious diet. The third dimension is the utilization of food through adequate diet, clean water, sanitation and health care to reach a state of nutritional well-being where all physiological needs are met. The last dimension is stability which denotes having access to adequate food at all times. Access to food should not be lost as a consequence of sudden shocks or cyclical events.2

As in most developing countries, the Philippines remain predominantly agricultural in spite of the declining share of the sector to the country’s national income (Table 1). The declining agricultural productivity, continuing increase in the prices of staple foods and global climate change caused concern for food security for the growing population in the country.3 The rice crisis of 1995 and the food crisis in 2008 bear witness to the necessity of food security policy formulation. However, this is not an easy task. The process encompasses many interrelated areas and requires resolution of policy issues that are often in conflict with each other. Since most of the conflicting policy issues are anchored on solid grounds, policymakers would require strong bases such as comprehensive statistics and quality and timely agricultural data in deciding which option to take. This makes the statistical system an indispensable partner in maintaining food security.4

The Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) is mandated to collect, compile, and release official agricultural statistics. In the pursuit of its mandated tasks, it provides most of the statistics and indicators that are used to describe the status of food security in the country and aids in investment, marketing and policy decisions that have a direct impact on food security.5 These statistics and indicators come in the form of web-based information system, commodity situation and outlook.

As far back as 1990, with some assistance from the FAO, the BAS implemented and have maintained through the years, the development and maintenance of Agricultural Indicators System (AIS). It consists of 13 sections or modules, two of which are related to food security: Food consumption and Nutrition and Food Self-sufficiency and Security. The indicators include the following, which may be used to support data requirements to monitor and evaluate programs and policies on food security, among others:

Per capita index of food production

Per capita supply of calories

Import dependency ratio

Stocks of rice and corn

The BAS also spearheaded the establishment of the Philippine Food Security Information System (PhilFSIS), in support of the Agrikulturang Pilipino (Agri-Pinoy), the overall strategic framework of various Department of Agriculture (DA) services and programs from 2011-2016.6 Patterned after the ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS), PhilFSIS is a Philippine initiative to create a one-stop shop containing relevant, timely, comprehensive, user-friendly, and accessible data affecting food security. It is a web-based information system that aims to enhance food security planning, implementation and evaluation through improved organization, analysis and dissemination of relevant information.7 This information system will be launched this October 2013 at the BAS website www.bas.gov.ph Among the basic statistics that policy and planning for food security require from the statistical system are production, trade, prices, uses, and food consumption. In addition to these, the policy and planning group should also have data on supply chain or distribution system, costs and returns of production, marketing costs and margins, household income and expenditure, and nutrient intake.8

Though still being developed, it is envisioned that PhilFSIS will be able to provide policy and decision makers with necessary data in coming up with viable judgements. PhilFSIS is targeted to be in full operation by June 2014.

Status of Food Security in the Philippines:

Among the statistics and indicators that can describe the food security status of a country are those relating to production, stocks, trade, consumption and population. The Supply and Utilization Accounts (SUA), compiled by the BAS, puts together the basic statistics that can help in situating the food security status of the Philippines. The SUA allows the derivation of relevant food security indicators such as net food disposable, self-sufficiency and import dependency ratios. The following is a summary table for selected food commodities:

Based on the Table 2 on Self-Sufficiency Ratio, the country is self-sufficient in sugarcane and milkfish from 2006 to 2011. We have also achieved self-sufficiency in cassava in some years. The country is still not self-sufficient in rice, the staple food commodity of Filipinos, as well as other basic food commodities such as pork and chicken. The country, though, is nearing self-sufficiency in corn.

Other Statistical Indicator Systems that Monitor Food Security

The Statistical Indicators on Philippine Development (StatDev) http://nswebserver/stats/statdev/default.asp is an indicator system compiled and maintained by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) to monitor the progress and achievement of the economic and social goals set forth in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP). It provides a comparison of the actual attainment vis-à-vis the targets indicated in the Plan.

Improvement of food security in the country is one of the most important outcome identified in the latest PDP Plan 2010-2016 under the Agriculture and Fishery sector. Critical indicators http://nswebserver/stats/statdev/2012/ ch3_agriculture.asp to monitor this goal include Subsistence Incidence Among Population; Ratio of Rice Self-Sufficiency, and Inflation Rate for Food, among others.

Requirements in Agricultural Statistics

Agriculture statistics that are needed in monitoring food security should be available at the desired level of disaggregation. In most instances, to serve the country requirements, the need is at the regional and provincial levels, apart from the national levels. Food security related statistics of other countries also prove to be useful, for benchmarking and international comparability.

For instance, the prevalence of Food Inadequacy is an example of an indicator aimed at capturing an outcome of food insecurity due to inadequate food access. Table 4 shows this indicator across Southeast Asian countries from 2005-2012. The lower the percentage of food inadequacy, the better it is for the country. The figures indicate that the Philippines ranks midway compared to its Southeast Asian neighbors. Brunei Darussalam has the least prevalence of food inadequacy, followed by Malaysia, and Thailand. Timor Leste has the highest prevalence of food inadequacy, followed by Lao People’s Democratic, and Myanmar. These statistics tell us a story and provide us challenges in shaping a better future for our country.

1 Director of the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics; Director Recide is the Chairman of the Inter Agency Committee on Agriculture and Fishery Statistics of the NSCB. The author thanks NSCB Secretary General Jose Ramon Albert, OIC- Assistant Director Ratelieta T. Millendez and Ms. Haidee Orellana of BAS, Dir. Raymundo J. Talento, Ms. Maria Fe Talento, Mai Lin Villaruel and Noel Nepomuceno of the NSCB, AASID staff of BAS and Simonette Nisperos of NSIC in the preparation of the article, as well as Mr. Edward Lopez Dee and Ms. Virginia Bathan for the Filipino translation